Adam McQuaid was not bad in 2017-2018

Adam McQuaid - D

Analysis:

After a strong 2016-2017 season, McQuaid continued to refine his game this past season and has shown the Bruins he is useful enough to keep around. He is not flashy and won’t make any highlight reel plays, but the rugged defenseman brings a lot to the Bruins and did his job in 2017-2018.

We all know there are mixed thoughts on McQuaid among Bruins fans, but it is clear the Bruins think he is dependable enough to play anywhere on the bottom two defense pairs. When used in the right situation, McQuaid’s presence is invaluable.

He has developed a good chemistry with Torey Krug over the last three years, and the match has been a perfect fit. McQuaid’s defense-first mentality allows the more offensive-minded Krug to jump in on the rush and produce on that end. McQuaid has also been known to cover up any of Krug’s defensive blunders in the past, and vise versa. The pair is like a magnet. They are two different players with different skill sets but they fit better with each other than anyone else.

Furthermore, Krug really struggled to build chemistry with Brandon Carlo, who took McQuaid’s spot on the second pair during his two month recovery. It just goes to show that if the Bruins want Krug to be at his best, it will probably come when McQuaid is to his right.

McQuaid is also praised for his willingness to block shots and to drop the gloves. He always sticks up for his teammates and is one of the toughest players in the NHL, even though fighting has decreased over the years. With that in mind, let’s take a look at one his best fights from last season.

Okay ... let’s look at another one.

But, with the hard-nosed style and shot-blocking mentality, injuries will come eventually, which is arguably the biggest knock on McQuaid. His only major injury of the 2017-2018 season came just two weeks into the season against the Vancouver Canucks. What looked like a regular shot block for McQuaid turned into two months on the shelf with a broken leg.

Was McQuaid perfect last season? Not at all. He is still prone to make some terrible passes, lose coverage in the D-zone, and screen his own goaltender at times. Every player in the league has their ups and downs. But it seems McQuaid had more ups than downs this past season, which is likely because he missed two months and played a lot less games than normal, but I don’t want to take anything away from his play.

Probably the biggest surprise of McQuaid’s season came when he scored the game-winner against the New Jersey Devils February 11, but another admirable play came when he broke up a 2-on-0 against the Philadelphia Flyers on April 1.

Despite showing a lot of good signs, McQuaid’s 2017-2018 season wasn’t perfect by any means, and we all know that. He again found himself injured and out of action for an extended period of time. He again found himself on the wrong end of some passes, and still showed serious issues in recognizing plays out in front of the net. But in the midst of all that, he was still able to show up with some big plays over the course of the season. There is no denying that McQuaid has improved in recent years when deployed properly.

Aggregate Grade: C

Although he only suited up in 38 games, McQuaid served his purpose last season. He solidified the middle pairing with Krug for a time, gave the Bruins stability on the right side of the blueline, and defended his teammates when necessary. He did his job, and sometimes that is all that matters in the end.